Snapchat Begins To Integrate Digital Ads

As will happen, another social media brand will be making a move toward the inclusion of digital advertising. As Advertising Age reports, image messaging service Snapchat has announced that they will begin the process of adding advertisements to their platform.

This move should not come as a total surprise to Snapchat users. CEO Evan Siegel recently indicated that ads would begin appearing in Snapchat’s “Stories” feature. A few advertisers have already begun launching experimental campaigns through the platform, including Dove with its recent “Self-esteem Weekend” initiative.

In a recent blog post, the company explained the move with a measured degree of nonchalance. It describes what current plans to incorporate advertisements will look like, saying that users can can expect an ad to appear in their Recent Updates “from time to time, and you can choose if you want to watch it.” It describes the move as “No biggie.”

And while the company is upfront about the reason for the change (“we need to make money”) it is apparent why they want to calm any fears about disrupting the user experience. Snapchat is dominated by younger users with over half of its base between the ages of 18 and 24. According to research firm comScore, the company falls behind only Facebook and Instagram in popularity among smartphone users between 18 and 34. The claims that its platform supports over 700 million “snaps” and about 500 million stories per day.

With those demographics as their base, their is a significant amount of cool factor to think about as Snapchat moves into its next phase. Bloomberg has reported that Yahoo would be investing in the company, putting its total estimated value at $10 billion.